Subject:Trouble
Entries
Entry 6383
An' dey could trim yer fingahnails, yo' know. Say now, like if yo' set dere an' trim yer fingahs, I'd gathah dem up. See, I'd gathah dem up an' take dem - or toenails, eithah one of 'em. Take 'em an' put 'em in a li'le vial. An' aftah yo' put 'em intuh de li'le vial, yo' would keep 'em in dis vial fo' 'bout nine days, wit a li'le vitrus wit 'em fo'.tuh git 'em soft. Den yo' take 'em out of dat vitrus an' dry 'em off, an' put 'em in anothah vial den an' put othah stuff wit 'em. (What other stuff do they put with that second vial? What do they put in that second vial?) Intuh de secon' one yo'll put some of yer own chamber lye, an' a li'le bit of cologne root.
(Cologne root?)
Cologne root. An' yo'll take dat an' shift it aroun' [in the bottle]. Dat is tuh do 'em harm.
[Cologne root is probably a product of the root-seller or hoodoo drug store.]
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then, that has that stuff in it? This second bottle, what do you do with that, then?) De bottle? Well, yo' could take dat bottle out some place an' bury it. Bury dat bottle an' dat'll make dem useless in dere han's or foot, wherever dese nails come from.
Entry 7821
If someone's daid, some of yore relatives, an' yo' git in trouble, yo' take an' write dem a lettah an' tell 'em whut chew in trouble 'bout, an' care [carry] it tuh de graveyard an' put it in dey grave, an' yo' nevah will be 'rested [arrested] 'bout whut chew done. [Informant pronounced preceding word relatives as relatives.
Entry 8030
Well, yo' have tuh grind dat up, grind de bone of de dead man up. An' perhaps dey might put it intuh yuh food or perhaps yo' may drink. Why jis' grind it up fine or jis' take a hammah or sompin lak dat an' beat it up - put it in a rag an' beat it up fine, yo' know, jis' lak flour on somepin. An' put it intuh yuh food or jis' put it intuh whiskey yo' drink or soft drink or anything lak dat an' yo' drink it down. Why dat would give yo stomic trouble. De balance of yuh days yuh stomic will nevah be no good tuh yo'. Keep yo' in lingahin' death.
(What do they call that?)
Suffahin' a man.
Entry 8694
[There was] a man [a doctor] and he write - wrote in red ink.
(He had red ink?)
Yes, sir. Not ink, yo' know a red pencil, but red center. An' he write mine name, hers name an' - wrote de boy's name, an' de girl's name, an' then my name across it. And he [this doctor] said that would make them humble unto me. Yo' see, give me no more trouble. Well, it look like it did, see. Ah don't know. Ah know ah never did [have any more trouble with them].
(Then after he wrote those names, then what did he do with that paper?)
Fold it, fold it to him. Every time he turn it, fold it to him. Don't fold it away from him, to him. And [he] sewed it up in a little sack an' ah wore that, wore it out. That's what I experienced individually.
(You had to wear that?)
Yes, sir. (He wrote this girl's name and this boy's name like that [I demonstrate] on parallel lines.) Yes, sir. (Then he crossed - then diagonally he crossed your name on it with this red pencil? I see.) YeS, Sir. [THE READER MUST REALIZE THAT THE PRECEDING "PARALLEL LINES" AND "DIAGONALLY" ARE NOT FOR INFORMANT BUT FOR MY FUTURE UNDERSTANDING. MANY OF MY COMMENTS ARE ANNOTATIONS.]
Entry 9017
(You do what?) Dey take a frizzly aig from a frizzly chicken. [For friz- zly chicken, see Doctor Friz- zly, p.59f. and elsewhere.]
Yes, an' write on dat aig an' go roun' de co'thouse three time an' throw it on dere, an' if yo' got anybody in prison, dey will come out.
(What do you write on that egg?)
"Lord depart chew from dat trouble."
(Then you throw it on that courthouse.)
Entry 9095
It was a colored person, a lady, Miss Field [in New York City] she'd fell [fall] off in a trance, tell yuh anything. An' she tole me dat [a remedy in 870:2 - mullein and snake oill. An' she even tole me dat any time de trouble come, any- thing dat ah wanted tuh go in- tuh, or anybody was goin' tuh do anything, tuh come back in trouble - she tole me tuh go git some limes, yo' know dese li'le limes. An' if ah'm goin' in co't or any trial dat Was goin', cut one of 'em in half - dis fortunetellah in New York - an' walk in dere an' while ah walkin' in, put a half in mah mouth, an' de whole time jes' spit a li'le bit of spit. Evahthin' in court was throwed apart half- an'-half, no kind of fine. Nuthin can be - de jedge cain't do nuthin'. She said, go anywhere, regardless, jes' take dat lime an' cut it in half an' use dat in....
(When you are in trouble.)
When yo' in trouble be sure to git dat lime.
Entry 9109
Den ah tell yo' anothah thing dat's very good. Yo' use dat oil of amber. Yo' cross de bottom of yore feet wit dat, both feet, an' rub it on yore- self [demonstrates]. (You rub it on the hands like this, and then you rub it right at the top of - the middle of the temple, and then right down your chin.) An' yo' kin go anywheres an' dey will be so sympathizing wit yo'.
(You mean that is to get out of trouble or...)
Most anythin' [even a court case]. Ah had a girl in de hospital, she wus goin' - wanted to be graduated, goin' to be a nurse, an' she was doin' some li'le things she shouldn't have done, an de head nurse was goin' to discharge 'er. An' she didn't wanta leave fer any- thing. An' ah jest give her de stuff an' tole 'er what to do an' she stayed dere - jest graduated.
(You use that for little minor things.)
Entry 9196
If yo' wants tuh git outa trouble or anything lak dat, dey say if yo' take a aig - some people say if yo' take de aig at twelve a'clock in de night an' write de person's name on dis aig, an' yo' kin eithah go in one cornah of yore house an' bus' dat aig In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost at twelve a'clock... An' some people say tuh go in fronta de co'thouse or de jailhouse or wheresomevah de person am, see. An' take de aig an' throw it ovah dat an' let it bust ovah de topa it.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Any kind from whut ah heard. Ah heard dat yo' kin take dis aig an' yo' kin take dat an' yo' kin make a wish In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Tell it whut chew want it tuh do fo' yuh an' bury it undah yore steps. Say dat will come true.
Entry 9200
Yo' take de black hen aig an' put a cross mark on it an' write de person name on it an' name, yo' say: De Son an' de Fathah an' de Holy Ghost, an' den if yo' in trouble, yo' turn yore back an' bust dat aig up by de tree, an' it break an' yore trouble break.
Entry 9797
Yo' take needles an' pin 'em in a flannel rag, an' it must be needles dat have nevah been used, an' yo' wrap dem in a angle an' fold'em in a angle, an' dat brings a lotta trouble. (How many needles did you say?) Three. See, yo' stick dem through de flannel lak dat [demonstrates], chew know, an' den lak dat.
(Like the spokes of a wheel?) [See diagram in preceding rite.]
Yeah. Den yo' wraps dem up an' yo' buries 'em.
(Where do you bury them?)
Undah de steps.
Entry 9809
Well, now if yo' is livin' neah me an' dey brings on confusion between I an' yo' which we can't git along or make us bat up wit one 'nothah, yo' kin take eight straight pins. Eight straight pins now. Yo' lay fo' of 'em tuh yore front do'. Yo' lays fo' tuh yore back do'. An' yo' goin' have tuh move 'way from dere. Yo' can't stay. (Do they lay those in any particular way?) Well, yes, yo' lay all de p'ints back out at de front steps, see. Jes' lak yo' go in de house, yo' come up an' go in de house over de step, well, yo' lay dose pins lak dat, de p'ints p'intin' out p'intin' 'way from de house back an' front.
(That makes you move.)
Entry 9837
Why ah heard dat chew git needles an' yo' git a piece of red flannel. An' yo' take nine needles an' fold dat flannel. Take nine needles, stick five dis way an' fo' de nex' [opposite] way. Den yo' git Heart Cologne an' wet dat an' sew dat up in somepin. Place it anywhere an' dere will be confusion in your house from den until yo' move.
Entry 10176
A bird's nest - a person can take some of your hair and put it in that bird's nest, you see. And take some of that bird's feathers and put that in there and then take your hair and put it in there. And then every, every morn- ing they take and set a light [candle] right in there [the nest] but not burn the nest. Just take that light and set that light in there [in a drinking glass]. And if they want to do you harm, get you some coarse snuff [often leaf of dried tobacco rubbed in hands] some hot pepper [sauce] and put it in there. And burn a light on it for nine mornings - you see, one hour for [each] nine days.
Entry 10640
Go to a ants' bed an' git dat sand an' sprinkle it round someone's house dat chew didn't like an' dat will also cause trouble. (What kind of trouble?) Like fights an' probably would end up into killin'. Dat's de red ants' nest.
Entry 10661
Anyone dat have a weak blad- der dataway or bad kidneys lak dat, use dere chamber lye to de ant nest fo' nine mawnin's an' it would stop. Dat big red ant nest.
Entry 10685
What do you do with the banana peeling?) A banana peeling is something you burn, that's something to burn. Yoa can Cke a banana peeling and burn it, and take it after it's powdered, and yoa can make a person heart - the doctor [an H. D.] be seearing that a person got heart trou- ble - by feeding 'en or giv- ing them that banana peeling [powder] in water to drink. And they be sick, and don't need nothing else but that banana peeling, and the doctor be swearing that person's got ordinary heart trouble. And when you stop giving it to 'em, stop feeding it to 'em, there won't be no more trouble. [Presumably this is believed to be a device by which a hoodoo doctor gives a person heart trouble and then cures him.]
Entry 10707
To make de house lucky, if rentin' a house.... Yo' take dis salt an' put it in de Bible or in a leaf [torn from Bible] an' put it on a shelf an' jes' leave it dere. Yo' kin put it in a small place, yo' see [where it will not be seen] an' yo' won' have any trouble rentin' yo' house. (You just wrap this salt up in this leaf from the Bible. You tear the leaf out of the Bible?) Yo' kin take de leaf outa de Bible, 'cause yo' see if yo' leave de whole Bible up dere, dat's suspicious.
claimed house-rental luck from the described salt/Bible placement. Keep Bible OR leaf wording and later permission to remove a leaf because a whole Bible would arouse suspicion; no mandatory whole-book placement. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 4050) · Read full source (printed page 4051)
Entry 11300
Got de hair from a dog - git it from right off his right hip - an' yo' take dat hair an' put it in some coffee. An' if yo' got anybody dat chew, chew dislike around yore house, yo' jes' give 'em dat an' let 'em drink de coffee up, off dat dog hair. Well, yo' won't have no trouble. (The right hip you say. The front or back?) De back one [the leg a dog lifts?].
Entry 11383
(You bury the file under the doorstep? This brings trouble into the home?) That brings trouble in a home. (The point must be....) Extendin' [pointing] to de house. Yo' don' wanta bury it dis way on de step [demonstrates]. Yo' wanta bury it dataway, extendin' to de house an' kinda elevated up. Dat brings trouble in de home.
Entry 11643
It all depends upon what kind of fits they have. (What for example?) Well, if they have what you call epidetic [epi- leptic] fits, of course, you have to take them to the doctor [M.D.] for that. But I tell you what I do know. Like I have a young baby and a woman come in my house be real sick and she hold my baby, she will give my baby what you call a string and he'll begin like that [demonstrates] to draw up, you know, like he Want - his bowels Wan'a move. Now, I'll go back to her and get a piece of her underclothing and tie it around my baby's wrist like that, and he will be all right.
Entry 11720
She [hoodoo woman] tell me, if you wan'a make a man an' a girl break up, jis beat up some glass right fine an' put it in a bottle with a little whis- key on it. Drain it [the glass] off of dat whiskey - strain it [the glass] off [of the whiskey], you know. An' when yo's having a party or somepin, jes' slip dat [strained whiskey] into de drink dat you gon'a give dis person. [The person who drinks this strained whiskey will have in him or her a part of the spirit of the broken glass, because spirits share a weakness for whiskey and PART OF THE SPIRIT EQUALS WHOLE OF SPIRIT, No.24, p.21, v.1. Even so the rite is dangerous.]
Entry 12281
Yo' kin during so many days tie knots in a string an' dey say dere a way of dressing dat. Git chure clothes an' put [knots] in dat an' bury it. When dem 9 days out yo'll be a corpse. (How would you dress those strings, those knots?) Dey dress with whut chew call - it's a root dey call a ~uampole root." It grows lak a great big white onion...
[I turned off machine and turned it on again.]
(It's a bitter weed, you say.)
[Is informant talking about wild onion?]
Yes sir, a hog loves it, de bitterest in de world. He scream when eatin' it. [This screaming sounds like folklore.] An' if yo' bite it an' swallow dat, it Will tie yo' up inside an' kill yo'. [Is this based upon pigs hunting for truf- fles, the pig being hit on the nose when he finds one (the cause of the squeal) so that he does not eat it?]
(Constipate you?)
Yo' kin bite it but don't swallow it.
(That's warpole root?)
Yes, wampole root. Dey takes dat string an' de salt[?] outa wampole root until dat thing git wet through an' through an' put dem knots in it. It will tie yo' up jes' lak...
(That is to tie your bowels up?)
Yes sir. Yo' heard of people wit locked bowels from dat. (What do they do with this string first? Do they have to get it out of your clothing or something?) Dey git chure clothing an' wrap dat string wit it. (Oh, you wrap that string around your piece of clothing.)
Entry 12287
Jes' lak yo' wants tuh choke a person. Yo' wanta jes' choke 'em an' he don't know whut might cause him tuh choke. Yo' take a string an' yo' measure it jes' about two feet long, an' yo'll tie three knots in it. After tyin' three knots in it, yo'll take kerosene an' wet dem knots jes' - jes' take yore two fingers an' wet dem three knots dataway. After yo' wet all three of 'em, yo' take it den an' yo' go tie it on a limb or sompin an' let it hang dere. Well, long as dem three knots is hanged why a person always - jes' lak dey hate chew - yo'll always have trouble in yore throat. (That string doesn't come in contact with the person I want to choke does it?) Dat's right, yes. Jes' lak a person always wanta choke an' dere be's jes' lak flem.
Entry 12318
If yo' burn a tree - if yo' wuz out with a person an' yo' take an' note where there's a lightnin'-struck tree, an' yo' split it up an' carry it to 'em fo' wood an' he burn it, even unknowingly, he'll lose his home. It's bad luck to him. (You give the fellow bad luck by giving him this wood from this tree?) Even if he didn't know it - he might not have but two pieces of dat, but he'd lose whatevah he had.
Entry 12373
Hit's in de country though, whut ah did. Hit's a weed in de country, yo' call de love tangler. [Is this a dodder?]
(What does it look like?)
It's jes' - it's a bush dat grows flat chew know, an' it jes' tangles all up yo' know - jes' lak yo' cain't see where de root of it. It jes' tangled an' twisted all up. (Is it a flower? Does it have any bloom on it?) No, it don't have no bloom. It's jes' a pretty green glat weed dat be's tangled up. An' yo' dig up some of that - yo' jes' dig up one bush of that an' carry it an' throw it under de per- son's house whut's devilin' yo' up wit chure husband.
(What will that do?)
Dat puts yo' all back together an' breaks him an' dis woman up. Dat's whut ah did fo' mah sister.
Entry 12440
You take a mockingbird.
(A mockingbird?)
Yeah, you take a mockingbird egg and a canary bird egg, and you put them twd eggs in a bottle together. And you take a person's name and you put alcohol on that, but you mark the name in initials and you put it in a good bottle. [One bottle is used in this rite.] (You just put their ini- tials on that?) Yeah, and you put it down in that bottle and shake it with that person's [name] that you don't like or do [person who has done] you something. It will just make 'em talk all over from their mouth, send them to jail, give them trouble, make them get in a fight and get in trouble.
(You say this will make them talk?)
Make them talk aplenty, make them get in trouble.
(Well, why does it make them talk?)
Well, you see, the two birds don't agree - make 'em chatter.
Entry 12538
Dey used tuh use dem red onion a long time ago. See... [turned off machine and turn it on again]. But people take a red onion, see. Dey take parsley as ah said a few minutes ago, red onion an' parsley an' dey'll git dis stuff dey call mustard, hot mustard. Dey put dat together an' dey'll leave dat onion dry an' dey'll grind it up good. Dey'll leave dry dere good. Yo' seen people to de [old-fashioned outdoor] toilet. It de custom to set on dere. Jes' spread it [this mixture] on de seat dataway. It supposed tuh give 'em some kind of a itch. Ah dunno. Ah see 'em all right. It'll [itch or skin trouble will] come between dere finger an' it'll come on de side an' in de bath dataway. [I have no idea what these 3 ingredients will do but at an earlier date this sort of thing was HOODOO.]
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12710
If yo' wuz sellin' whiskey an' de law wuz pretty bad, botherin' yo' aroun' yore house an' yo' wanted tuh keep 'em away, why yo' kin take a rabbit - kill a rabbit an' yo' kin kill a chicken. Take de chicken foot an' de rabbit foot an' bury dem tuhget- hah in de gate where yo' come intuh yore front do' at. Put dem in de ground an' bury dem tuhgethah. Den yo' goes back in de house aftah yo' do dat. Yo' goes back in de house an' yo' probably stay in de house ten or fifteen minutes an' den comes back out. Yo' comes back out an' yo' digs dis rabbit foot up an' dis heah chicken foot, an' yo' don' bury 'em tuh- gethah nex' time; yo' bury one on de right-han' side an' one on de left-han' side. De way ah heard it, don' make any difference which one yo' put on de right an' which one on de left. Yo' bury one on de right an' one on de left - on de left side of de do'steps, by de cornah of de do'step. An' yo' takes one of de toes off de chicken foot an' carry it roun' tuh de back do' tuh keep 'em 'way from de back, an' yo' bury dat down dere. An' dey say yo' won' have no trouble wit de law as long as dem feets is solid. An' when dey rot - yo' kin tell when it will rot down dere. Yo' have tuh bury some mo'. An' yo' won' be bothahed wit no law. A lady down heah in town heah, she had a experience wit dat.
Entry 12921
(They shoot the shadow, you say?)
Yeah. Well, dey do dat to harm a pusson, get him into trouble - harm 'em. Yo' be up dere - standin' dere - of co's [course] dis de individual, yo' understand. Yo' have a walkin' stick, see. While he standin' up, yo' be mark- in' in de ground. Yo' mark where his shadah is, yo' know. Well, after he go yo' know, yo' shoot dat shadow an' yo' shoot right in de heart. See, wheah yo' heart is, yo' know.
(And what will that do to them?)
Dat give dem heart trouble.
Entry 13351
Well, dey tell me a person's chamber lye - yo' takes a person's chamber lye - do yo' mean tuh do good or do harm? (Either one. Tell one first and then the other.) Well, yo'll take a person's chamber lye an' yo' put nine needles in dat chamber lye, brand-new needles. Yo' stick one point down an' one point up, one point down, until yo' git all of 'em down in dere. Yo' take dat an' yo' put dat chamber lye - bury it somewhere where dey kin walk ovah it. Dat will do 'em harm.
(Well, just what would it do to them?)
Well - well, if yo' wanta do good, now...
(How would it harm them?)
Well, dat would harm 'em, dat would ketch 'em in dere bladdah. Dat's de way dat'll harm dem, swell dem up down in heah.
(How do they do them good, do you say, with chamber lye?)
Well, yo' take dat chamber lye, ifs yo' want a man tuh stay home, take dat chamber lye wit some salt an' some sugah an' yo' stop dat up. An' yo' put dat undah de haid of yore bed, somewheres neah yore bed, or in a dark cornah in yore room - anywhere lak dat. Dat will make him stay home an' quit runnin' an' rov- in' aroun'. Dat'll make him stay home.
Entry 155
Ah heard 'em say when that whirlwind wus on, that they had see - says, well, de trouble wus all ovah. Whosomevah seen de whirlwind, says they troubles wus all ovah.
Entry 216
This story that I am about to tell happened in New York [City] about two years ago [1934]. There was a black cat came to a lady and followed her home. She tried to keep him out. He followed her on into the house. To begin with she intended to get rid of him, but after he stayed for a day and a night, she liked him and she kept him. He was there about four weeks. The woman went away to Chicago to the big fair that was there and she took the cat, she carried it over, to another woman's house to spend the ten days she was away. They took care of him over there. When she came back home, she sent and got this cat and brought it back. This woman's house she carried it to, her brother-in-law was living with her. Three days after the cat was carried back, this woman's brother-in-law - he had heart trouble - that had kept it ten days, started upstairs. He got to the third floor, he lived on the fourth, dropped down with his cigarette in his mouth and died right there. People came up the stairs and found him with the cigarette still in his mouth and had to take it out to keep it from burning him. They took him back up to the apartment and he was buried from there. One week after, the woman that the cat had followed home, she went to work. She didn't work all the time, but this was a special day she went out to do some- thing. She kissed everybody goodby, went downtown to do some little housework. She did what she had to do on the first floor, went up the stairs, got to the top of the stairs, gave one little sigh. Someone came to her and when they got there she could not speak. She died. The black cat was still at her house. They huddled him out from there because no one wanted to see that cat because some people was watching the effects wherever he had been. They took him to another apartment on Grant Avenue. That family was demolished. Trouble came up and they separated. So they got someone to take the cat out in the country and I heard no more of him.
Entry 765
It's a vine - ah dunno whut chew call it - it's some kind of a vine dat dey call a cross vine. [Crossvine is a woody vine (Bignonia capreolata) in the southern United States; a transverse section of a stem often showing a cross mark.] It grows an' of cos' if yo' move that, why yo' won't have any luck an' yo' be troubled in every way - no prosper of no kind an' fin'lly yo'll jis' have it in yore mind tuh move.
(What do you do with that vine, now?)
Put it undah de ceiling of a house.
(Under the ceiling - like that up there?)
Yo' kin put it up ovah the do' or underneat' undah de steps. (You get two pieces of this cross vine and cross it, so that if anybody moves in there they can't stay - they'll have to move.) Yes.
Entry 1690
Ah've heard dat chew - jes' like if yo' want tuh do somepin other, anything dat chew wanta do, why yo' kin go to a thunder-strucken tree an' git jesta chip off dat tree, an' yo' take it an' go to de fo'ks of a road, where de roads crosses, an' yo' stick it down dere, an' when yo' stick it down dere, jest like if yo' wanted a person dat done somepin to yo', yo' call his name three times an' say, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, let not dis trouble come upon me." Well, now dat's all ah've heard about dat.
(You can do almost anything you want to by doing that out there?)
Yassuh. (You can tell them to leave or you can tell them to stop bothering - you can tell them almost anything? That the idea?) Yassuh.
The informant reports a chip from a lightning-struck tree placed where roads cross, naming someone three times and a spoken request against trouble. Two interviewer questions broaden the proposed purpose and receive affirmative answers; those prompts and the informant's limited hearsay remain explicit.
Entry 5008
If yuh wan' anybody tuh move an' don' wan' 'em tuh give yuh no trouble, if yuh kin git frien's 'nuff wit 'em tuh git - dey be outdo's washin', jis' walk cross dere an' git dere socks. An' take it an' turn [fold] it lak dis [demonstrates]. An' carry it on de opposite side of de train, yuh know, on de blind side, an' sets it up dere. An' dey'll go right jis' fur as dat train go. Yuh won' evah have no mo' trouble wit 'em.
(How do you mean, turn the sock?)
[I want a better demonstration.]
Jis' lak yuh have on a sock, well yuh fol' de laig an' let de feet come long [along] last, yuh know.
(Where do you put that sock then?)
Jis' lak peoples git off dat side, yuh come up on dat side [blind side].
(On the train and that sends him away.)
Entry 12449
If yo' break 'em up - break up a mockin'bird nest, trouble will fol- low yo'. [Sumter 2429:10.]
Entry 12527
In case of serious trouble, yo' kin take red onions. If de person in de house raisin' Sam [= one of many names for the devil] an' yo' don' wanta run 'em out, yo' kin take a red onion an' not say a word, an' walk back fn de house an' jes' throw it up on de bed lak dat, an' dat trouble will stop right away. Throw it up on de bed an' de trouble will stop right immedi- ately. It won' be but two minutes 'fore everybody quiet down.
Entry 1840
See, ah takin' in a little washin' an' ironin'. Wal, I'se makin' good and she call herself fren' of me an' I believed 'er then. So she come to mah house an' says, "Ann, come heah a minute." An' ah went to her. She says, "Come walk around a piece with me." Well, ah did, but ah said, "Well, ah ain't got time cause ah gotta go an' wash." Well, there was another woman called me at de time, says, "Ann, do yo' know who dat woman is dat walk wit chew." Ah says, "Yes, dat's Lulu Taylor." She says, "Wal, now, ah want tell yuh dat woman will put chew in de worst luck - she put chew in de worst luck yo' evah been in yore life. That's Lulu Taylor's job. She call herself great frien's but she kin put chew in de worst luck yo' evah saw and yo' watch what ah tell yuh." She says, "Lulu Taylor is goin' put chew in hard luck," cause she has put her [speaker] in hard luck. She says, "She goin' put chew in hard luck." Ah says, "Well, how will she do that?" "[She] says, "She goin' burn sulphur on Friday on yo' and she goin' to git graveyard dirt to run yo way from heah. Dat's what she goin' do; put chew in de worst kind of luck." Wal, she did do it. She asked me to come home wit her and ah went and says - when she got a piece out she says, "Ann, does yo' know where any white dog manure is? Wal, ah wanna git some." She say a man's name. Now, it was a man there she had been knockin' aroun' wit, an' another woman come and commence to lose time with him. She say, "Come on an' go with me." Ah said to mahself, "Ef she goin' do this kind of trick, ah wanta see how it's done." Ah goes with her. She went to the graveyard and she dug in top of dis grave, down in de grave about dat deep [demonstrates].
(To her elbow.)
An' she got some dirt out of the grave and she say, "Heah's a penny." She put de penny down and tuk away de dirt, come on back to wheah I was wit it in her han' and says, "What ah want chew to do de first time yo' see any white dog's manure, git it fer me." Wal, by time she got to de house, ah walks on heah and ah see it. Ah calls her and she come on back dere to dat stuff. She mix dis heah stuff and put three pins in dere. She put three pins in dis stuff she had fixed - she wouldn't tell de [other] stuff she had. But she run dis man away. Ah know she done dat. Dat [given name] Thompson, ah think it was [his given name] - she run him away from there. Well, he went. [The preceding statement, come on back to wheah I was, shows the first rule of graveyard procedure - all rites must be performed by operator alone. A good illustration of this is the man who waits outside graveyard while woman enters; he not speaking to woman again until they reach home (see No. 77, p.32). Present informant talking about penny is merely after-the-rite knowledge projected for- ward. If present operator had mentioned penny to present informant before-the- rite, she would have violated the rule of secrecy, this causing failure.]
Entry 2930
Well, say for n'instance if you are in trouble - anything of that sort.
(Anything.)
If you in trouble, you take a red candle - for n'instance, you take a red candle and you get the judge's name. You get the judge's name and you write his name like I 'fore told you, but it's a diff'rent candle - you write on the red candle. You burn that candle. (You write the name down?) Yes, sir. Down. Now, say for n'instance that you goin' to go to trial - today's the day which is the 13th. All right, you goin' to go to trial, say the 20th. Well, you might get you a subpoena to go to trial - maybe today and get that sub- poena. You got the judge's name. Well, you start from today. You get you a red candle and you burn that candle daily. See, you write that judge's name down on that candle. Now, as you writing his name down on that candle and you burnin' his name, you take and you write the judge's name down nine times on one piece of paper, and you keep that in your right shoe. You wear your underwears on the wrong side until the day of trial. And on the day of trial you still got your paper in the shoe. If that paper should happen to wear out, which some people sweats in the feet aplenty - that wears out, well, then, you write that name over nine times and put it in the right shoe again and keep your underwears on the wrong side. When you leave on the morning of court to go to trial, you turn your bed upside down. You leave the whole house in fact in - you know, the whole house upset. See. And you go ahead on to trial. When you go to trial, it won't be nothing to that. That'll be over with - without lawyer, no money or nothing.
Entry 3038
Well, it's according - you can burn a pink one, you can burn a yellow one, you can burn a white one, for luck.
(Well, how do you burn those various candles?)
Now, you take - say for 'n'instance like when I was on my truck. I had a truck. I used to get me those yellow candles, you see. Either yellow or white will do. I get my candle and I'd light my candle in the mornings 'fore seven o'clock. I used to go to church for them. And 'fore seven o'clock I'm got my candle, I'd light my candle on my truck. I wouldn't got out of my truck. I'd burn the candle and whilst burning my candle, I'd use cinnamon and sugar. I'd burn that in my truck. I'd put that in the candle and I'd burn that in mv truck. I had St. Peter and I had St. Joseph. I'd light my candles to them and I'd pray to them.
(In your house?)
No sir, on my truck.
(Oh, you did this in the truck?)
In the street, no house at all - in the street, anywheres in the street, when the time comes. I would burn that. That was for my luck. All right. Twelve O'clock, I'd burn it - burn my candle again at three o'clock and during that day I never had a misfortune at all. During that day I made - if it wasn't but five or six dollars, I made that.
Entry 10965
You don' need so much and yo' don' need so much doin', understand? You take a ten-cent piece, a ten-cent piece and put it in de bottom of your foot in de sock, in de bottom of your foot. You understand me? Well, all right, and you git chew a black hen egg. A black hen don't lay a black hen egg.
(I unders tand.)
And if you want a pal's lady friend and you know her name, you write her name on de egg and you, in two minutes, go down to de river and throw it in de river, and don't turn or look back until after you gone about two squares. Don't look back at all. [Preceding squares instead of blocks very un- usual.] (You throw it over your shoulder then?) No, you don' throw dat over your shoulder. (Oh, you just throw it right in the river and then turn around and go right back?) Throw it right in de river and go turn on back [home]. You understand me?
(I understand.)
And dat will drive dem away from you. You understand me? And you will have no more trouble or nothin'. And dis [ten-cent] piece you put under de bottom of your foot, you wear it in dere two-three days, and den after two-three days...
[I turn off machine, then restart it.]
(You what?)
After two-three days you wear dat piece in de bottom of your foot, let me see it.
(Let me see it?)
Let me see it. (Who sees it? Do you mean? Oh, the woman whose name is on the egg. You let them see it?) No, you let me see it.
(Well, why did you see it?)
Yeah. Now, I goin' tell dat. You put dis piece in de bottom of your foot, and if it turns black - you understand me - if it turns black, dey have hurt chah.
(Oh, I see. I understand now.)
You understand me, now? Well, if it do turn black, it is somepin in you. Understand me? Yeah, but - and den... (Well, now, just a moment. You mean - now suppose I am doing this. Suppose I am doing this to someone. I get this egg and I wear this silver piece. Which shoe do I wear that in?) In the bottom of the foot in the shoe.
(Either shoe? In your left or?)
In the sock, yeah - right.
(The right shoe.)
Entry 12713
Take a rabbit's brains an' dis ole Hearts Cologne an' dry de brains. Dust 'em [make a dust of them] an' den put dem in dat Hearts Own Cologne, in de bottle an' stop it. An' dey tote dat an' yo' can't see 'im. [The person becomes invisible.] Dat's whut dey tells me.
(You can't see him?)
No, sir, he'll disappear. Yo' see him an' he'll go to nuthin. Well, dey tells me dat's whut dey has.
(Who would do this?)
De man dat's into trouble. (You said they also use this "getaway powder, " use that and they can't catch them?) Dat's right. Now ah've knowed of 'em using [that]. Dey'd git away wit it, too.
Entry 8175
Dat yo' have tuh take dat on a tintype, no othah kinda pichure will do 'less [unless] it's a tintype pichure. An' yo' kin take dat tintype pichure an' plant it anywhere yo' choose tuh, upside down wit yure haid down, an' it will keep yo' worried an' troubled. Yo'll travel from one place tuh anothah as dat pichure - yo'll nevah be satisfied. Yo'll be on yure haid, nevah make friends Yo'll break yure home up. (You mean [demonstrate] this is the picture, and there's the head. Bury it that way [on the head] upside down that way. I understand.) But it have tuh be a tintype pichure. No othah pichure will do.
Entry 157
When yo' see a whirlwind, if yo's quick enough at it an' yo' have a great 'sponsibility on yo' dat chew cain't git [manage], chew know; yo' run right quick an' git chew some table salt in yore han' an' run right in dat whirlwind whilst it whirlin' up, an' all yore troubles of whatevah yo' thinkin' about, whatevah troubles yo' have, would go 'way with the wind - with that whirlwind.
Entry 190
Dey study where de whirlwind stop at, mostly settle, so dey kin git some of de dust. See whut ah mean. Jes' de last whirl an' go way an' leave it, when wust part gone, see. It will go 'way an' it might have several places, yo' know, it leaves where de whirlwind's gone an' left off, dere be's a whirl. See. Well, if they kin git some of that an' make a wish with it, dat yo' kin do a lotta persons some damage with it. Git some parts of it. See whut ah mean. Dey does a lotta trouble wit dat.
Entry 1172
Anybody would be botherin' yo', git chew two aigs, yessuh, an' have some of yore fren's tuh throw 'em at chew. Yo' walk from yore place yo' see, an' have dem jes' throw dose aigs in yore back an' vo' feel dey bust, an' den dere's nobody kin trouble yo' or nobody will bother yo' atall.
(They just have to break these eggs on your own back.)
Jes'- no suh, don't break 'em on yore back, jes' throw 'em right tuh yore feet chew know.
(Break them behind you?)
Right behin' yo' at chure feet - any kinda chicken aigs. (Two of them. That'll keep the law away or anybody that is trying to disturb you?) Yes, dey even cain't fin' yo' wheresomevah yo's at.
Entry 1180
Heard of 'em using chicken feathers fo' trouble round de home. Dey take de feathers of a black hen an' saturate it wit sulphur an' yo' bury dat under yore do'step. Dat will run off all de trouble an' harm round yore home.
Entry 1195
[Oil of cinnamon is usually confined to compounded ingredients.]
Now yo' go - ah go to de drug sto'. Yo' know oil of cinnamon? Ah go git dat. Dat cost a dime, oil of cinnamon - ten cents. An' ah go, ah'll git de oil of cinnamon, yo' see, an' yo' takes dat an' rub it on yore hands all de time. Well, dat will keep yo' out all de trouble in de world. [After this informant leaves I comment to Telediphone:] (End of 1250. That fellow was a fortune-teller. He didn't seem to know very much about my particular work.) [This means his unrecorded conversation lacked interest or was too diffuse. I probably appointed him an assistant contact man. For both of these See Introduction.]
Entry 1502
Dey tell dat if yo's livin' in a house that folks is died out of an' there's always been somethin' that's worryin' yo' round de house, that it will be their evil spirit comin' back to see whut's happened out de place since they wus gone from it, an' if yo' burn a ole shoe sole through this house, that'll drive dem 'way an' yo' won't have any mo' trouble with 'em.
Entry 1509
Well, when yo' have a whole lotta trouble in de house - raisin' Sam, dey cain't git along - yo' kin take ole shoes wit sulphur an' cayenne peppah, yo' got fiah, jes' throw 'em in dere in de fiah lak dat, an' de fellah go to de do an' he stan' an' look at de smoke come out de chimley. Den after he go, yo' say, "Son-of-a-bitch, go." He'll nevah come in no mo' - won't come dere no mo'.
Entry 1977
Dere is dis garlic - gits dat garlic an' yo' takes some dis seven finger root an' de King of de Worl' [magic three ingredientsl, gits dat an yo' put dem together. Dat is to carry yo' through an' good luck. (What do you mean you put them together? How are you going to put then together?) Put dem three pieces into a vial together, or sew 'em up together into a seal- like [unusual use of word seal], an' den yo' feed dat - yo' feed dat with red whiskey. Yo' kin git red whiskey now [now that Prohibition has ended] - yo' feed dat wit red whiskey [instead of moonshine white whiskey]. But now yo' could jes' feed it wit rose perfume in de place of de red whiskey, if yo' can't git de red whiskey. But while usin' dat fo' yo'self yo' don't drink dat red whiskey. Whut chew feed dat on, don't drink it. Yo' kin drink any othah kind 'scusin' red whiskey. Dat's fo' luck, carry yo' through an' he'p yo' in trouble - plenty of fren's, yo' have mo' white friends den yo' do of any othah.
Entry 2038
(What could I do to keep the law away?)
Go an' git yo' some John de Conker. Yo' could git it in liquid or yo' kin git it in pieces. Yo' kin take John de Conker, if yo' wants to keep him away. Pull off yore own shoe every mornin', dip yo' own finger in it three times and place it under yore feet, an' rub it back of yore own ear three times, an' yo' won't have no trouble with the law.
Entry 2138
You can buy oil at the drug store called moving oil - confusion oil they call it, and you sprinkle in front of the door in the night, you know, slip around and do in front where they pass, and that will make them move in a certain length of time. They get a disturbance in the house and they will move. Moving oil or confusion, either one of them.
Entry 2529
I understand that you get this high-graded incense. You use that, you smokes that up over your door. Course he'd come around, but he wouldn't never come for no kind of trouble. You understand? It keeps him quiet.
(I see. That's all you do - use that incense?)
That high-graded incense.
Entry 2821
Yes, it make fuss and trouble. Well, they'd write your name on that candle. Take a black candle and write your name on it - into that candle ~ three times around each side of it. And they'd light that candle, and when that candle is lit - when that candle burn down, you suffer with a miserable headache, and it goes down with the candle.
Entry 3964
Well, yo' kin take a woman ag'in. Dis woman an' some of - mah ole lady, an' yore ole lady didn't lak her, or sompin lak dat. Dey had a fallin' out wit 'er, an' [or] anybody dat wanta fallen out wit 'er, dey kin study roun' 'er an' git some of 'er min'strate, an' take dat an' put in a closed jar an' bury dat head-side down. She won' have no mo trouble wit her no mo'.
Entry 4765
Anothah thing she do. Take his clothes, eithah his undah piece an' put in de baid iis' lak he got 'en on, undahneat' de mattress, an' call dey name nine times. Wherevah dey may be, dey git troubled an' dey gotta come back home.
Entry 4860
Den anothah one tole me tuh git a garment of yo's, whut chew weah nex' tuh yo's. Tie it up an' put it in some runnin' watah an' carry it on away from dere. Yo' nevah will have no trouble wit dat person no mo' - run 'em out. Jis' lak someone roun' yore home givin' yo' some trouble wit chure home or somepin lak dat. Why if yo' do dat tuh dat fellah, dat would run 'im away from dere.
Entry 4905
(Now, what do you do with the sock?)
Yuh take de sock an' bury de sock toe comin' tuh do', de do' dat chew wan' dat person tuh come dere an' stay dere. Why jis' bury dat sock in de groun' wit de foot tuh de do', comin' tuh de step-lak, yuh know, an' dat person will stay dere. Yuh won' have any trouble wit 'em. (Which sock do you use, both of them or just one of the socks?) Ary one of 'em will do, but de right-foot one de bes'.
Entry 5073
Take an' git dere socks. An' take his socks an' wash 'em. An' take de watah an' put it in a bottle wit de soft watah, sompin lak rain watah, in a kinda crystal watah. Let half of it be de watah from washin' de socks an' half of it be's de crystal watah.
(Soft water?)
Yeah, take dat an' put a little sugah.in it an' put Epsom salts in dat. An' yuh take an' burn de incense an' de red onion - lump incense - on de stove, an' sprinkle a little sugah in it. Dey mos'ly use sugah mos' in anything. An' yuh burn dis lump incense an' de red onion on de stove an' call de name three times. Burn dat fo' 'bout nine mawnin's an' he'll come back an' dere won' be no trouble.
(What did you do with that sock water? What did you do with that?)
Take dat an' set it in de no'th cornah of de house an' keep it dere fo' three days - three tuh nine days. An' yuh take it out an' yuh po' it 'cross de do'- steps an' aftah it dries... [I turned off recording machine too soon or accidentally and had to restart it to repeat informant's words.]
(He'll come back?)
Yessuh.
Entry 5105
[As we have seen under ASHES, there are many more shoe-burning rites than those given here.] If yuh got a husban' an' he won' stay at home, yuh git one of 'is shoes, de right foot of 'is shoe. Take dis shoe an' burn it up. Of co'se, yuh know de [there is] leathah on de shoe. Burn it until it gits kinda intuh a powdah form. Den take it an' wrap it in a piece of papah. Dig a hole up undah de front do' an' of co'se, when he walks in, yuh won' have any trouble 'bout 'im goin' out any mo'.
Entry 5110
Yo' git some sulphuh, yo' git a piece of ole shoe; but don' do dat, not until yo' dere by yuhself. Yo' set dat afire at twelve a'clock evah Friday. (In the daytime?) Yes sir, twelve a'clock evah Friday, an' burn dat slowly. An' aftah dat, yo' won' have no trouble. It may be slow in comin', but whenevah dey do come, dey come in a heap.
(You burn that at twelve o'clock in the daytime or at night?)
Twelve a'clock in de day, when dere nobody dere but chew.
Entry 5139
An' den on de othah han', if yuh don't wanta [be bothered] - if dere's somebody dat come dere dat disturb yuh or somepin of de kin', de law or anybody else, take some ole shoes an' rags an' burn 'em evah Friday. Don't miss a week. Yuh'll nevah be troubled. Ah know dat's a fact. [This rite is merely an exten- sion of the belief Old shoes may be burned on Friday for luck (FACI, 2nd ed., 10676, p.485).]
Entry 5487
Take a shell. Yo' kin take dat shell an' yo' kin empty de shell, an' yo' kin git a spoon or eithah jis' a little bit, jis' about as much as dat dere [demonstrates], of dirt outa man's track an' put it in dat shell. An' when yo' put it in dat shell, if yo' don't want 'em roun' heah, yo' git right tuhwards sundown an' yo' fire dat gun. An' he'll nevah come nowhere roun' yo', nevah be roun' yo' no mo'. Won't have no mo' trouble wit 'em.
Entry 5490
In othah words, ag'in, yo' heah tell about a man - ah'm havin' trouble wit a man about mah wife, yo' know. Well, AH'M JES' GOIN' USE YO' AN' AH FO' A PARABLE. Well ah done tell yo' 'bout mah wife an' yo' wouldn't quit, an' ah done git attah huh [after her] 'bout chew. An' yo'all - yet yo' don't quit. Look lak yo' jes' ready tuh die if yo' could. Well, fo' a instan' [for instance] now. Ah don't wanta ary [either] one a-yo' [of you], see. Well, tuh collah [put a collar on] it, ah gotta take de weak man's strength, see. Ah'm gotta make yo' stop in a way tuh keep mahself free. See, ef ah go ahaid an' kill yo', ah gotta be punished, yo' undahstan'; but if ah work fo' me, ah kin do it an' de law can't git at me, yo' see. Well, ef ah don' wanta kill yuh, ah'll jes' break yo' up. Ah'll take yore dirt dataway [demonstrates] - take up yore track, push it off from me.
(You take it from the heel to the toe or from the toe to the heel?)
Well, ah ketch dis centah of de track an' shove it from me - grab it an' grab it from me. Git up a li'le bit of it fo' three steps.
(From three different steps.)
Dat's right. Ah git it jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates].
(I understand: one - two - three.)
Three tracks - dat's de right feet. All right. Ah'll take dat an' put it right tuhgethah. Den ah'll turn roun' den an' ah'll git mah wife's track, see.
(How many do you get from her?)
De same thing. Den ah'll put dis in - ah'll take de shot out of a shell an' put dat [tracks] in dere, in de shot place, an' wheresomevah ah layway dem [keep mah gun an' shell] an' wheresomevah ah ketch 'em talkin' ah'll run in on 'em an' de time dey [before they have time to run away], see, ah'm goin' shoot right ovah dey haids yo' see. Dat's goin' blow 'em apart, yo' see. Yo' undahstan'? One go one way an' one go de othah, an' ah ain't goin' have no mo' trouble out chew an' 'er. AN' IF SHE BE WIT ANYBODY, IT BE WIT DE NEX' MAN, 'CUZ AH DONE BLOW YO' AWAY IN DE AIR.
(But you have to go in on them, touch them and shoot right over their heads?)
Dat's right. Jes' lak if yo's got 'er cornahed talkin' somewhere, ah ain't comin' up tuh shoot yo'. Ah's be lookin' roun' an' ah say, "Dere he be's now." [Yo'] know it customary tuh ketch yo' off [by yoreself] an' have a li'le talk. Well, it might be tuhday, see, when yo' go tuh work, when yo' [I] see 'em [you two]. Well, ah ain't gwine tuh see yo' [talk to you again], but jes' where ah meet chew [you two], ah'm goin' turn an' shoot ovah yore haid [heads]. An' when ah turn loose [the gun], one gwine dataway an' de othah one gwine dataway. An' den ah won't have any mo' trouble wit chew an' 'er.
Entry 5535
Well, ah kin take dat foot track if ah jis' - say jis' WAN'A KEEP ANY- yo' see. Ah kin jis' ketch 'er track in a clear place, an' git a nice li'le stick an' measure dat track, an' git a good size bottle. An' ah'll sew dat track up in a red flannen cloth, an' ah will git nine bran'-new needles, see, an' stick it in dat cloth. Stick de needle right up lak dat in dat cloth, see. An' git three rusty nail an' tie it tuh- gethah, an' drop it in dat bottle an' cork it up airtight, an' evahthin' will be okay. Won' have no mo' trouble gittin' along wit chure wife.
(You said you use the stick for something?)
Yes, jis' any piece of li'le stick. Yo' jis' kin take a knife an' run off a li'le piece jis' long 'nuff tuh measure de track lak dat, see. Den yo' take de li'le stick an' yo' break it up, break it up in a li'le pieces, see. An' yo' put it in dat red flannen an' sew it up. Yo' take up dat track yo' know. Yo' take dat track up, see, an' put it in dat flannen jis' where yo' measurin' it. Sew it up an' take dem nine needles [etc.].
Entry 6160
Ah wuz goin' wit a girl oncest an' ah quit dis girl, an' dis girl didn't Want me tuh quit 'er at de time. But den, yuh see, ah stayin' [with] anothah girl dat ah feel tuh mo' den ah did 'er. An' evah time ah'd go wit dis othah girl, well ah'd have trouble wit dis girl dat ah'd guitted. So ah went tuh a doctor, a 'erb doctor, an' inquirewhut could ah do tuh git rid of 'er. He tole me tuh go back [to quitted girl] an' bring 'im jis' as much of 'er hair as ah could git. So ah, ah do dat. Ah went back an' played wit 'er until ah got a chance - ah had me a ole Jem City razor blade - until ah got a chance tuh clip dat hair off. Jis' cut it off so she wouldn't miss it, cut it off jis' here [demonstrates].
(Above the ear.)
Ah give it tuh 'im. He got a peg six inches long. It wuz jis' a lil ole ash peg. He give me de peg an' tole me tuh go down by a creek, down dere aside of a sweet gum tree, an' stick dis peg in de groun', an' take two stran's of 'er hair an' throw in de watah. An' evah mawnin' - he tole me tuh keep enough of de hair- so evah mawnin' ah go dere fo' nine mawnin's tuh throw two stran's of hair in dis watah, an' drive dis peg jis' a lil evah mawnin'. An' evah mawnin' - ah went down fo' nine mawnin's - ah throwed two stran's of de hair in de watah an' driv de peg, an' jis' driv it fer enough so on de ninth mawnin' yuh kin driv it down [completely]. I did dat fo' de nine mawnin's. On de ninth mawnin' - an' ah smack de peg [all the way in]. From den on ah didn't have no mo' trouble wit 'er. He say dat would divide us. He say dat watah wuz runnin', he say dat would divide us. [Wilmington, N. Car., (283), 198: l; this happening at Whiteville, N. Car., in 1929, the doctor's fee being $15.]
Entry 6295
If yo' git holt of dere hair, why yo' kin put it in runnin' watah - anyone givin' yo' trouble - an' dey have to go outa town.
Entry 6395
Take when yo' scrape de bottom of yore feet. Some people have crusts or whatsomevah, ole dead skin, up undah de bottom of dere feet. Yo' take dat an' yo' put it in a jar an' bury it up undah yore back do'step. An' aftah yo' bary it up undah yore back do'step, whutsomevah trouble yo' have wit dis persmn, it'll be all ovah.
(You take that to somebody you are having trouble with?)
Yes sir.
Entry 7816
In some parts of the South they claim if you get some dirt from the cemetery and put it in a box, and place it under the steps of your enemy, it will cause trouble in their home. And oft times they sought a cunjure-man and he in turn gives them a piece of rau- hide, and tells them at intervals to tie a knot until that string is exhausted. That will do away with the evil spirit. [Informant Was born in Jacksonville, Fla.]
Entry 7856
Say fer instance, if ah wanted tuh keep de law away, ah would take potash - take dis ole potash an' ah would take an' place it undah yuh steps, an' ah'd [I would] place dis ole potash up undah yuh step an' ah'd put graveyard dust intuh dis potash, an' yo' wouldn't have no trouble wit no police. Not comin' tuh yuh house, if yo' wanted dem tuh stay away.
Entry 7900
Yo' take lak yo' got on yore shoes an' yo' pull yore shoes off. Dey kin git some of dat graveyard dirt an' sulphuh an' sprinkle in yore shoes. Wal, dat'll put chew in trouble. Dat all dat'll do. Put chew in jail, keep yo' in jail all de time. Put chew in hard luck. Dat's de way dat do's.
Entry 8036
An' if someone die an' yo' know 'em good, jis', yo' know, fresh buried, an' yo' git in trouble, yo' go by an' cut off dey left fingah an' put it in yuh pocket an' dey nevah will ket' chew [catch you].
Entry 8116
They kin take a egg, draw their pitchure on dis egg, bury it with the face to the sun, an' it will cause 'em to be in trouble.
Entry 8150
[This margin title about graves and graveyards shows how difficult the arrangement or ordering of material in Hoodoo has been. All the following rites could have been placed under section DEATH - BURIAL - GRAVEYARD, Pp.3293-3419. These beliefs, however, actually emphasize photographs.] Lak if yo' got a person an' yo' don't lak 'em an' yo' want 'em tuh stay from yo', when yo' go dere an' git dere hat, pichure or anything an' take it tuh de grave- yard an' bury it - an' dey will be gone fo' good. Yo' will nevah have no more trouble wit 'em.
Entry 8472
Now, if I wan'a keep yo' in trouble - kin yo' hear me? [I probably nodded yes.] If I wan'a keep yo' in trouble, I get a glassful of whiskey, half full, and turn you [your photograph] down in [not on] that glass, and put [in] three old brass pen- nies, yo' know. Pennies, yo' know. And let it [photograph] stay upside down in there, and you will be in trouble the balance of yore days. [3 pennies symbolize Three Holy Names or are taken over from payment to grave spirit for graveyard dirt.]
Entry 8990
If a man evah git into trouble an' he wants tuh git outa trouble, co'se [of course] it ain't no root but chew git chew a Testament, a little Bible dat's got de Psalms in it, an' yo' read dat piece ever' mawnin' at seven o'clock. Have dat Bible brought to yo' in de jail whilst dey got chew in prison. Read dat piece ever' mawnin' at seven o'clock. Git up an' read dat piece an' read in dere. Ah've did dat, chew see: Oh, Lord deliver me in mah distress; deliver me from de han's of mah enemies [this sounds like a conflation from 2 different Psalms]. An' dey said dat chew will overcome dat. Ah did it an' ah got out, did conquer 'em. Ever' mawnin' yo' read dat piece. Git dat little book, dat Bible.
Entry 9042
Yo' kin go tuh de cemetery. Yo' have tuh go by yo'self an' carry jes' two or three grain of cawn [corn rare as payment] or two or three cent. An' run yore han' fur enough down in dere to tech de casket, tuh git de dirt, an' put dem pen- nies down in dere. An' when yo' put dem pennies down in dere, tell 'em, jes' say, "Ah want chew tuh do sech-an'-sech a thing. Ah want chew tuh git mah husban' outa trouble, or mah brothah outa trouble, " or somepin othah lak dat, if dey in trou- ble. An' when it time fo' trial dey'll come cleah. Yo' take dat graveyard dirt an' sprinkle it all roun' de co'thouse, all aroun' de jailhouse, or jes' where- somevah he at.
Entry 9082
An' yo' gits dis John de Conkah root, an' yo' gits a piece of devil's- shoestring root. An' yo' split dat devil's-shoestring root, split it in half, in fo' halves [quarters]. An' yo' cut dat John de Conkah root round. An' yo' puts hit [both roots] intuh a vial, an' yo' put dis Jack of Clubs, Hearts Cologne [2 perfumes] on it. He totes dat in his right pocket.
(For what?)
Dat's fo' luck in trouble. (Now what does he do? He puts that John the Conker piece, cut round, puts it in the bottle. What does he do with the devil's-shoestring?) Mix it wit it, put it right in de same bottle - put dat in de same bottle. (Wait a minute! You didn't put that round piece and that split part of John the Conker then?) No.
(Separately?)
Jes' separate dem.
(Why do they split that John the Conker root? I mean the devil's-shoestring?)
Ah don't know, jes' tuh split de enemies dey say. Dey put dem two into a bottle.
(How many pieces of John the Conker do you put in there, you say?)
Three piece, three round pieces.
(Why do you put three round pieces in there?)
Dat is fo' de jedge an' de solicitor an' de lawyah, ah 'spose.
(That goes in with that devil's-shoestring.)
Yes.
(And you feed that you say?)
Jes' feed dat, Hearts Cologne, Rose Van [Rosewater] or Jack of Clubs.
Entry 9195
Ah heard dat yo' take coffee groun's an' egg shells an' yo' beat dat up wit salt, an' yo' put dat undah de step. An' as de persons who live in de house track dat, well dey'll be disagreeable an' dey wouldn't be in dat premises long. Dey'll move out in perhaps a few days.
Entry 10550
Go down to a cross- road, where a road crosses, nine Sunday mawnin's. It's a very ha'd [hard] thing tuh do. When yo' thought of doin' one thing fo' nine Sunday mawnin's it's a good long while. An' meanwhile ah come an' maybe somebody try tuh hol' him off, but yo' gotta meet at dis same place at de same time of day. Jes' lak ah say ah'll be dere at nine a'clock, yo' gotta meet dere at nine a'clock fo' nine Sunday mawnin's at de crossroads. An' yo' gotta read a verse out de Bible.
(Do you know what the verse is?)
It's de 36 Psalms, an' ev'ryone ends wit de same words - de 136th Psalms, an' ev'ry verse ends dis chapter heah wit de same thing, de same words. Well, yo' start wit dat an' yo' read it fo' nine Sunday mawnin's, an' de ninth [Sunday] mawnin' yo'll meet what yo' didn't expect. Yo'll meet trouble dere, storms, high winds or somepin of dat sort. Yo' cain't tell exactly whut's it goin' be, maybe it will be rain, maybe wind, maybe snow or somepin lak dat. It be somepin diff'rent, de ninth mawnin'. But anyhow yo' continue wit it an' when yo' git through wit it, yo'll do whut chew wanta do so fur as tricks is concerned an wit'out bein' religious atall. But chew kin do anything yo' wants tuh do.
[Wilson, N. Car., (1476), 2655:3.]
12. BAT [Originally this section about the bat - not a bird as folklore believes - was a part of CHANNEL DE WORLD, a catchall later in the present volume. I did not realize until too late, that BAT should have followed FROG AND TOADFROG, a pre- ceding section of the present volume. Yet, to follow section SELL SELF TO THE DEVIL may not be inappropriate. These following rites show less knowledge and interest in bats than in frogs and toads, because bat was a night animal and frog and toad better known and easier to catch and handle.l
The informant describes nine Sunday mornings at crossing roads at a fixed chosen hour, reading a Psalm, with unexpected weather or trouble on the ninth and claimed abilities afterward. The spoken Psalm number changes from 36 to 136 and remains literal. The following BAT heading and Hyatt's section-placement introduction are retained only as surrounding context.
Entry 10875
(Well, now, how would these people make you move out? What would they do to make you move out?) Oh, that. That is very easily done. You see, you kin take - you know, two tom cats fights whenever they meets. Well, they kin git to you very easily. You git two tomcats - their manure. That [is the] frontyard there and that [is the] front porch. I will take, if I wanted to do you harm, I would take my left hand any time at night and I will probably throw it [manure] over that porch or over dat front yard where you gotta cross for to come into the porch. I will throw it thataway, see, as I'm going on up. I would walk de lenk [length] of that porch or de lenk of the front yard. I will take my hand, the left hand, and throw thataway, and don't ever look back. Well, you bound to cross it. Well you, if you stay there, you'll stay there in trouble; tormented forever and you'll be glad to get out, because them two tomcats - just like they was fight- ing all the time, that will keep you like that.
(I see, but you have to get the two tomcats.)
Yeah, the two tomcats. Well you take them two and you kin [do] enything and break up enybody - break up eny home.
Entry 11143
They jes' git down there and make a cross mark on de road, and if you come along and step over that mark, they got you. They done seen you goin' come there and they'll put it right where you can't help from stepping on it. And you'll have trouble.
Entry 11342
I've heard that people will take and burn dragon's blood on the stove and it's supposed to drive all trouble away.
Entry 11766
If dirt from a sinner's grave is scattered at the door, the person living within becomes worried and dissatisfied and cannot stay there in peace.
[Norfolk 533:7.]
Entry 12526
Ah say if anybody put onion peelin's around in front of de house, it will cause yo' tuh fuss all de time. An' then yo' kin take a piece of onion aftah yo' cut it off, an' yo' shouldn't leave de piece dere, yo' should throw it away because it will cause a fuss; but aftah it's cut, chew kin take an' stick a pin or toothpick in it, an' it'll be all right.
Entry 12552
Dey take red peppah and red onion hulls - peelin's, yo' know this shell of 'em. If yo' put dem in [on] de floor yo'll always be confused.
(If someone puts them in your house?)
Yeah, yo' can't git along in yore house. [Mobile 961:8.]
Entry 8696
It absolutely does bring about dat, bring about dissatisfaction in de home. De really fac' 'bout it yo' kin go tuh work an' take red peppah, DE SEED OF RED PEPPAH, to bring about hys- terical state wit a man an' his woman, dat dey absolutely can't git along dere in de home no mo'. But chew could take two red peppah [seed] an' it 'sposed whut dey call planted dat in roun' his do' - anywheres roun' his do'. Yo' would name 'em. (You would name those peppers?) Yes, yo' really name dose peppahs. It's 'cordin' [according] to how many he has in his family. If it's no one but jes' him an' his wife, well, yo' only plant two grains [2 seeds] of dat red peppah, an' den yo'll go tuh work an' yo' name 'em. Dat is, yo' know whut his name is, why yo' go tuh work an' yo would call dat peppah, name dat peppah; an' evah whut her name is, do de same. An' den if he's got any chillun upstairs in de home, why yo' go tuh work an' try tuh find out whut dose chillun name is. Well, dat whut yo' use de red peppahs fo'. [Notice the simple means used here!]
Entry 12386
Yo' kin take a box of lye an' yo' kin go out at twelve a'clock in de night, if yo' wanta run anything away. An' like runnin' away, dey tell me, dat's runnin' away de enemies of 'em - dese polices an' diff'ren' things lak dat. Yo' go out at twelve a'clock at night an' bury it down undah yore do'- step. An' after yo' bury dat dere, yo' curse de people dat chew want to stay 'way. An' yo' take a cold biscuit an' a tin nail - one dese little tin nails - an' drive right down through de center of dat biscuit into dat can. An' let it stay buried dere, de' say, fo' nine mawnin's, an' yo' kin take it up an' use it. If anything git tuh worryin' yo' - yo' havin' any trouble or anything like dat - yo' go back dere an' put down anothah can. Well, at de time yo' may not fear 'bout nuthin interferin' with yo'. Nobody won't interfere.
(Why do you put that biscuit in there?)
Ah don't know why yo' put dat biscuit down dere, but sompin othah. [One guess would be an offering to the spirit doing your work.]
(But you say you can use that lye over - you can use that if you want to.)
After it stay dere nine days, why yo' kin use it. [Normally materials cannot be reused.]
Entry 12900
[These following rites, excepting a few new locations of beliefs and a detail or two, add little to the dog rites in volume 3, numbers 2408-2419.] Dey tell me, dat if you having trouble in yore home with your family, dat if yo' wanta ketch 'em so dat yo' know who it is yo' havin' trouble with, dey tell De to takes yo' a piece of dog liver an' give it to yore wife, an' whenever dis fellah come back in dere, why he'll be fastened dere an' stay until yo' come.
[W11son 2647:16.]
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
(I see. Well, how did your son become mixed up in this?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
My son didn' git mixed up...my son got in a teenage scrape, doesn' concern it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
(Oh, I see. You've been trying to find this man...)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
To fin' somebody to he'p us git dem out. Yo' know, de people whut said could he'p yo'. Say dey could dress clothes an' he'p you git 'em out
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
[of jail]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
(Oh yes. I see.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
Dat's how me an' 'er came in contac' togethah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
(I see. Some of the root doctors say they can get you out of jail too.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4495
Dey can. It one down in Williston, Florida can git choo out. ALL YO' GOTTA DO IS TAKE 'IM A OL FIFTY-CENT - DE OLDES' FIFTY-CENTS YO' CAN FIN' AN' HE WILL HE'P YO'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(What is his name, do you know?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
I don' know his name but.... Do yo' know him?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Addresses this question to Cubby.}
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
I know where he is...
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4496
He's down in Williston. Somebody s'posed to take me down dere, but it's too late now. Dey done sentenced my son. Dere's nothin' I can do about it - not ha'dly anymore. Although I be right upon him. Ev'ry fourth Sunday I go up to see 'im
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[her son]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(I see.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
But this gurl is still workin' on her son - hard, hard
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[draws out this hard]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
. Yo' know Ronnie, don' yo'?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Addressed to Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Got in dat trouble - his mother's Lois.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Oh, yes, yes. I know who yo' talkin' about.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Dat's de one. Yo' don' remember the gal who wus stayin' wit 'er? He had her about crazy one time, yep.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(Do you know where this fellow down in Williston lives? How far is Williston from here?)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Question addressed to Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Williston is not too far.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Miffin answers.]
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Williston is about an hour's drive.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah about an hour's drive. Because I have been bein' so broke, but they tole me if I git me de oldes' fifty-cent I could fin' an' go down dere an' take it I will git little Timmy some money an' keep me a little piece of money. Now I defin'tly know people dat go down dere.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(Now what does he do? Have you any idea? Has anyone told you what he does?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Well, dat's up to yo' an' dis main wha' choo do. Yo' know wha' choo wan' did. It's up to yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(You take an old fifty-cent piece in silver.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah, but yo' gotta have dat. Have yo' heard dat?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Again asking Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yo' gotta git de oldes' fifty-cent piece yo' can fin'.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
I happen to know where he lives because I've taken a fare there before.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(You've taken a fare there. To see him?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
But yo' know what? I know a woman dat got 'er son dead out of trouble goin' up dere - dead out. But I'm too late fo' my boy 'cause I didn' b'lieve in dis an' I jis' couldn' git myself up to go 'til it wus too late. Dey sentenced 'im an' ev'rything. My son got from 6 months to 20 years an' he was jis' 15.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(Oh, that's terrible!)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(That's terrible!)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah, but he can make it out in another year if I understan' de parole. But dis main is good down in Williston, Florida. Have yo' heard he Was real good?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
[Again talking to Cubby.]
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah, I've heard he's very good.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah, tha's whut I heard too.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(We'll have to try to see that man, Mr. Cubby.)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
We can get down there week after next.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
HYATT TO CUBBY
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
(All right. I'd like to see him.)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Nested source context: live participant knowledge limit · Vol. 5, p. 4496
CUBBY I happen to know where he lives because I've taken a fare there before.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4496
He's down in Williston. Somebody s'posed to take me down dere, but it's too late now. Dey done sentenced my son. Dere's nothin' I can do about it - not ha'dly anymore. Although I be right upon him. Ev'ry fourth Sunday I go up to see 'im
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Dat's de one. Yo' don' remember the gal who wus stayin' wit 'er? He had her about crazy one time, yep.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah about an hour's drive. Because I have been bein' so broke, but they tole me if I git me de oldes' fifty-cent I could fin' an' go down dere an' take it I will git little Timmy some money an' keep me a little piece of money. Now I defin'tly know people dat go down dere.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Yeah, tha's whut I heard too.
locally coherent printed subpassage
Attribution of several unlabelled continuations remains uncertain.
closed_printed_multi_participant_exchange
Unlabelled first-person speech about the son remains Miffin’s; named CUBBY turns do not absorb her following paragraphs.
The malformed closing brace in the Addresses this question note is preserved as editorial production markup.
Cubby’s taken-a-fare statement establishes his own claimed transport history, not direct knowledge that treatment worked.
They say, I know a woman, heard he was good and I heard too are differing reported-evidence claims, not verified efficacy.
The final HYATT TO CUBBY label is structural addressee information, not another spoken name.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 5, p. 4493 · Vol. 5, p. 4494 · Vol. 5, p. 4495 · Vol. 5, p. 4496 · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(Now, how did a person,
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
[if]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
a person wanted, was in trouble, wanted to see Doctor Buzzard to work for him, how did he do it in the old days? How would he get to see him?)
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
Now, nine
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
[times]
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
out of ten thuh person was in bad trouble would be in jail. Some of thuh rel'tives would come.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(How is that?
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
[I ask about cassette.]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
That can't be still...)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
Yo' got jes' about anothah minute.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(All right, then you turn it over, flip it over then. All right. "Sorry"
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
[to Prophet]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
. Ah, now, they send somebody that's in the family. Well, how would they get to him?)
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
At tha' time, if he figgah thuh case was worthy of 'is service.... He would tell 'em tuh bring um somethin' belong tuh this individ'al, say a shoe, sock or even a suit of clothes. An' what he did wit tha' is a secret. But ah have tried it an' ah see tha' it does work.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(It does work.)
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
Um hm.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(Now, when they came to him did he ever refuse to take people, to take cases?)
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
Um hm.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(He refused to take cases?)
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
Many of 'um too small. He tole me these secrets. He says,
reported or enacted speech · Speaker called Prophet in this passage · Buzzard (as recounted by the speaker); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4623
"The po' will
reported or enacted speech · Speaker called Prophet in this passage · Buzzard (as recounted by the speaker); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
always be with yo'.... If yo' are goin' to woik, give all tha' choo have tuh people yo' work fo', if dey abal
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
[able]
reported or enacted speech · Speaker called Prophet in this passage · Buzzard (as recounted by the speaker); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
to pay."
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
There
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
[then]
informant · Speaker called Prophet in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4624
they come a cast, or a case, tha' choo know thuh circumstance, was...cause this trouble, then he'p this person. If they're hungry nevah turn 'em aroun'. Now, this is the way he worked. Like ah'm sayin' tuh yo'.
Nested source context: live recording logistics · Vol. 5, p. 4623
(How is that? [I ask about cassette.] That can't be still...) CUBBY Yo' got jes' about anothah minute.
Nested source context: reported quote opens across page · Vol. 5, p. 4623
He says, "The po' will
Nested source context: reported quote closes across page · Vol. 5, p. 4624
always be with yo'.... If yo' are goin' to woik, give all tha' choo have tuh people yo' work fo', if dey abal [able] to pay."
locally coherent printed subpassage
Cubby's recording interjection is distinct from the continuing informant called Prophet; Buzzard quotation is reported speech, not a live Buzzard turn.
closed_printed_exchange_with_live_recording_interruption
Cubby’s minute-left statement is live recording logistics, not Buzzard or the Prophet speaking.
The author addresses Cubby about flipping the cassette and then returns to the Prophet; bracketed addressee notes are editorial.
He says introduces reported Buzzard words; the passage does not let us confidently extend direct quotation beyond the printed closing quote.
I tried it is a claim by the present interviewee, not a demonstrated success during the interview.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 5, p. 4622 · Vol. 5, p. 4623 · Vol. 5, p. 4624 · Vol. 5, p. 4625